Children's Home, Residential special school run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 1 SC415138 Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a local authority. It provides short-break care, on a planned or emergency basis, for up to four children with learning and/or physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments. It also offers overnight stays and outreach care to children.

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Information about this children’s home

A total of 30 children and their families are receiving support from the home. There are 22 children accessing overnight stays, and eight children receiving outreach support. At the time of this inspection, four children were receiving overnight support, and two children were receiving outreach support. Four children were spoken to and observed as part of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably experienced and qualified. The registered manager was not present at this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 13 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2024 Full Good 01/02/2023 Full Good 01/12/2021 Full Good 29/01/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s lives are enriched because of the support from staff and the positive experiences they have while accessing this short-break service. Children have achievable targets and their progress is kept under constant review. Staff support children to make progress in areas such as socialisation, communication and independence. Staff ensure that children’s achievements are celebrated, no matter how small.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious, welcoming and well decorated throughout. Children’s bedrooms are thoughtfully decorated in themed styles, and they get to choose which bedroom they would like to stay in. Children have access to specialist equipment, and staff make adaptations to the environment to ensure that children are comfortable and safe during their stays. There are communication tools and sensory items throughout the home to support children’s sensory and communication needs. The home provides a calm, relaxing and stimulating environment for the children to spend time and have fun in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children first start to access short-break care, staff welcome them sensitively in line with their needs and level of understanding. The service offered to children is adapted to their needs and moves at their pace. Staff capture photos of children’s achievements and activities during their stays in their ‘My Life’ books. These are given to children when they leave the service. This helps to capture memories for children to look back on and aids their transition when they move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are nurturing, resilient and flexible. They know all the children well. Staff are attuned to children’s different communication needs. This helps children to feel comfortable, safe and reduces their anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have access to a wide range of activities in the home and out in the community. Children go to the cinema, fishing, swimming and on trips to watch banger car racing. One child, who has not been swimming for several years, has recently been swimming again with staff. These activities support children to have fun and feel included in the community, and they help to build children’s confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative and provide opportunities for children to learn and grow. Staff use an innovative approach to develop children’s independence skills according to their capabilities and to celebrate their achievements. This helps children to feel valued and creates an ethos of recognising children’s strengths rather than seeing their disabilities as a limitation to what they can achieve. One parent said, ‘I love that there are no limitations on what they allow [name of child] to experience. They see [name of child] as a boy. They don’t see his diagnosis and limitations.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation with children is a strength and is central to the care that staff provide. Staff ensure that children are given lots of opportunities to have their say in a meaningful way. Staff carry out evaluations with children after every stay, and there is a children’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 4 council where children make decisions about activities, toys and what changes they would like in the home. As a result, children now have some pet fish. Staff help children to participate by ensuring that they communicate in a way that each child understands. This supports children to be involved in making decisions that affect them and helps to develop the service.

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How well and young people are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding practice is effective. Staff understand risks and the potential triggers for the children accessing short breaks. They use this knowledge to ensure children’s safety and well-being. As a result, high-risk incidents are rare. Since the last inspection, there have been no allegations or complaints. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the service.

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How well and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. They are aware of the whistle-blowing procedure and the actions to take if there is an allegation or if children are missing from care. In addition, staff understand the additional risks to children with disabilities, including children’s communication support needs. Staff support children’s social interactions through high supervision levels and consistent, familiar routines. This helps children to feel safe.

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How well and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s written plans are comprehensive and provide clear guidance on how to care for children and protect them. However, in one child’s records, information is not consistent. There are differing times of when an ambulance should be called if the child has a seizure. While this has not affected the child, it has potential to do so and could cause a delay in accessing medical attention.

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How well and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff manage children’s behaviours well. They use physical intervention as a last resort to keep children safe. Staff use their knowledge of the children and effective de- escalation techniques to support children when they are feeling anxious. As a result, the need for staff to physically intervene has significantly reduced. Managers ensure that children and staff have opportunities to reflect after all incidents to ensure that any actions taken by staff are necessary and proportionate. This ensures that staff can amend their practice to meet children’s needs and helps to keep children safe.

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How well and young people are helped and protected: good

Children live in a well-equipped, safe environment. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks. Personal evacuation plans are in place for each child. Regular fire drills take place to ensure that staff and children know how to exit the building in the event of an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has not been in the home since 14 December 2024. Three deputy managers are overseeing the management of the home. They are supported by the operations manager and the responsible individual. This ensures that the absence of the manager does not affect the day-to-day management of the home or the care that children receive. However, the provider has not kept Ofsted fully informed of the absence Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 5 of the manager and the arrangements for the management of the home, within the timescales stipulated in regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders’ and managers’ monitoring systems and oversight of the home continue to be ineffective. While some improvements have been made since the last inspection, such as oversight of incidents and improvement in children’s consultation, managers have failed to recognise shortfalls in areas such as staff training and the statement of purpose. In addition, the managers’ six-monthly review of the quality of care lacks analysis of the impact the care that children receive has on their progress and outcomes. A requirement under Regulation 13 was raised at the last inspection, and this has not been fully met. As a result, this has been restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

When the manager has made amendments to the statement of purpose, they have not notified or sent a copy of the amended statement to Ofsted within 28 days. This means that Ofsted does not have up-to-date information on the service the provider is offering.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Despite the shortfalls found in leadership and management, all leaders, managers and staff share high aspirations for the children to make progress and have positive experiences. In addition, staff morale and retention are high. There is a core, stable staff team that provides children with consistent, high-quality care. Staffing is provided in line with children’s assessed needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say they feel well supported by the managers. They receive regular, practice- related supervision. Team meetings are reflective and support the team of staff to work together and improve practice. Training provided is varied and overall supports staff to understand the needs of the children in their care. However, only four members of staff have had training in the service’s model of care. This does not ensure that all staff have the skills to deliver care in line with the statement of purpose. This has been raised as a new requirement under Regulation 13.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff work well with parents and professionals. Feedback from social workers is extremely positive about how the service is child led and has helped the families, as well as the children, to make progress. A social worker commented, ‘It is an adaptive service, they look at what children need. Everything is worked around the child’s needs.’ A parent said:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

‘This boy, in five months, has been to more places than he has in all his life. I know it’s not about the parents, but what they have been able to offer myself and husband is undervalued. For the first time in 13 years, we are not worried about where [name of child] is. We have a happy little boy and it’s a nice to see.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that: the statement of purpose is forwarded to Ofsted within 28 days of any amendments; the six-monthly review of the quality of care includes analysis of how the care provided affects children’s progress and experiences; effective monitoring systems are in place to quickly identify and rectify any shortfalls in practice.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered manager must ensure that staff are provided with training to enable them to have the skills to meet the statement of purpose. 23 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 7 If the person who is in day-to-day charge of the children’s home proposes to be absent from the home for a continuous period of 28 days or more, the registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI of the proposed absence.

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Requirement Due date

Except in the case of an emergency or unforeseen absence, a notice under paragraph (1) must—

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Requirement Due date

be given no later than one month before the proposed absence commences, or within such shorter period as may be agreed with HMCI; and

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Requirement Due date

specify with respect to the proposed absence—

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Requirement Due date

the arrangements which have been made for running the home during the absence;

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Requirement Due date

the address, name and qualifications of the person who will be responsible for the home during the absence; and

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Requirement Due date

in the case of the absence of the registered manager, the arrangements that have been, or are proposed to be, made for appointing another person to manage the home during the absence, including the proposed date by which the appointment is to be made.

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Requirement Due date

If the absence arises as a result of an emergency or is unforeseen, the registered person must give notice of the absence—

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Requirement Due date

within one week of the beginning of the absence; and

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Requirement Due date

specifying the matters in paragraph (2) above.

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Requirement Due date

If the notice required under paragraph (2) or (3) has not been given as required, it must be given without delay.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI of the return to duty of the person in day-to-day charge of the home not later than 7 days after the date of that person’s return. (Regulation 48 (1) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v) (3)(a)(b) (4) (5)) 20 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and accurate recording. Children’s written management plans should provide staff with consistent, clear guidance. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 2DH

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Zouhaier Ben Cheikh Mohamed

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 10 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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